Always Second
by Under the Overcoat
Summary: The reflection of a broken man who was overshadowed at all times by an individual he came to hate.


Read and Review if you are so inclined. I would really appreciate it.

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**Always Second**

The port receded from view as the passenger vessel distanced itself from the shore and ventured out into the deep-blue ocean, away from his country, away from the people he knew, and, as a dim silver lining, away from THAT man.

That man, the very one who had instilled him with the urge to prove his superiority, and the one whose protégée shattered and undermined said dominance.

He had been so close--so close to fulfilling his dreams, becoming acknowledged! After decades of effort and research, his accomplishments were kicked from underneath by his rival, a girl, a boy, and the work of their comrades. Three individuals toppled his legacy: Three lone people with meagre assistance from others. Those three people took everything from him and those who followed him.

He had had mastery of the three legendary incarnations of the wind, fire, and lightning. He and his followers had been the most powerful people in the country. They were at the top, the pinnacle of supremacy. Their battle was won, victory achieved. No longer would he have been in the shadow of that man or they in the shadow of the man's own followers, forgotten. The damnable professor was to receive his comeuppance for eclipsing him with his silly notions of emotional connection and--and…and…

It all fell, spiraling into a burning wreckage that was even lower in acclamation than the prior situation. It had been a gamble between commendation and condemnation. He had known that when he began to gather his forces, connive, scheme, and undertake his operations. He had thought he would win the bet. It had seemed flawlessly conceived, immaculate. He had gathered around him loyal minions who followed where his finger pointed without questioning, nobly helping him achieve his goal. They had been unskilled compared to the forces of the enemy, but that mattered not; he had gotten his hands on their newest technology and improved upon it. The same actions used by their disciplined and experienced opposites to capture pokemon were replicated with little difficulty by untrained laymen.

It was true, they had not the ability to maintain control of pokemon. The counterparts could swoop in and undo this with their skill if they were capable enough, as exemplified by that girl and her partner. That wasn't truly a problem though; it was like eliminating one enemy only to have it replaced by another stepping forward. Furthermore, he knew it would be overall irrelevant to his ultimate machine. For all of the meddling and interfering, they simply were unable to stem the flow of his plots and schemes. So it remained true until the very climax of the conflict.

He remembered it vividly, though it had been months ago:

_He was atop the highest point all around, as was fitting. He had at his fingertips the most brilliant device he had ever conceived, far better than anything that man had ever created. At his disposal the three great beasts Entei, Suicune, and Raikou. Completely under his command, they would create calamities across the region, calamities that his opponents could not deal with. In a flourish, he and his men would descend on the chaos they had created and solve it with a flick of the wrists, supplanting their foes. They would gain the admiration of the public and the others would be in disrepute. _

_It was those others who opposed him now. He had heard them coming, the combat and clashing beneath him on the great pyramid temple. They were behind him now, preparing for the ultimate stage in their careers. He knew who they were--the two who had opposed him in the jungle. The shoe was on the other foot though; he was in control! Their strife would all be meaningless! He turned to face them, the blue-haired pair, with their electric partners plusle and minun. They surely would regret opposing him!_

So were his thoughts then. As he gazed at the dwindling sight of the docks of Fall City, it was obvious that he had been wrong. The damned ranger pair, Solana and Lunick, and his nemesis Professor Hastings had ensured that he was no longer merely second, but in fact last, in final place. His four children had gone off to their careers as acclaimed musicians with amazing speed. The public's acceptance of them was amazing given their previous activities, and they were comfortable with the transition. His Go-Rock Squad tried a number of times to revive themselves, but gradually returned back to normal lifestyles. He was the real and only true loser here.

He was naught but a bad memory at best. When people recall his name, they might shake their heads in pity or their fists in anger, but those would be rare reactions.

He knew what reaction would occur far more often, and it made him die on the inside, leaving the rotting corpse of his inner self to sit and decay in anguish. What they would say, it pained him to think about it:

"Who is Gordor?"

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**This is a little something I wrote on a whim after finally getting around to completing Pokemon Ranger 1. Gordor differs vastly when compared with the other villains. In some ways, he was more pathetic than Blake Hall. He formed his entire organization to cure his insecurity and make up for the fact that he was neglected and ignored. He wanted revenge on someone who was better than he, all to make himself noteworthy. A grand vision to its end, of course(destroying the rangers and their reputation and replacing them with the Go-Rock Squad), but the root of it was rather petty. He was simply craving of the attention and appreciation that he believed he deserved. However, he was very capable in his own right, and was in many aspects superior. To put it in a short way, he is a fascinating character that not many people acknowledge. So I did.**

**Please Review.**


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